Thursday’s protest was brought to you by the taxpayers of the State of Connecticut.

Faculty and other members employees of the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) system were urged to attend today’s Day of Action budget protest at the Capitol. CSCU was providing transportation and more–salaries.

“If you choose to attend,” Naugatuck Valley Community College Chief Executive Officer Lisa Dresden wrote, “I have been informed that you can code this time as REGULAR time and not code it as accrued time in CODE.” (Translation: You will be paid to lobby legislators.)

“Bottom line: If we want CSCU to continue to be the state’s primary engine of workforce development, upward mobility, and opportunity for all our residents, we need to fully find our operation,” Dresden continued.

On Tuesday, William (Terry) Brown, CEO of Gateway Community College, provided a similar note of reassurance to faculty on that campus. “Given that this is a CSCU-sponsored activity, employees are not required to use accrued time,” Brown wrote. “Employees should discuss their plans with their supervisor to ensure that we maintain department operations and services, adequate coverage, staffing, etc.” Brown noted the college was providing transportation.

In an email the day before, Brown included a line that suggests the campus leaders were receiving scripts for their dire warning.

“Bottom line: If we want CSCU to continue to be the state’s primary engine of workforce development, upward mobility, and opportunity for all our residents, we need to fully fund our operations,” Brown emphasized in italics.

The pay-to-lobby message undermines the CSCU theme that its resources continue to grow more precarious. Governor Ned Lamont’s administration has continued to refute claims from the state’s higher education institutions that his budget proposal is inadequate to meet their needs. A crisp argument continues to get lost in the haze of competing claims of how much has been spent, where it came from and how much should be appropriated in this year’s budget.

Published April 28, 2023.